City administrator: no August planning commission meeting; city planner Richard to transition out, new WSB planner Laurie joining

Oak Park Heights’ city administrator told the Planning Commission on July 9 there will be no commission meeting in August and that the city planner, Richard, is leaving the city.

The administrator said the city has engaged a new planner from WSB, Laurie, to take over planning duties. “She was the city planner for the city of Blaine for 24 years and has been at WSB now for 5 years,” the city administrator said, adding that WSB’s backup planner will support Laurie when she is unavailable. The administrator asked commissioners to welcome the transition and thanked outgoing planner Scott for his years of service.

Commissioners acknowledged the staffing change and expressed appreciation for Scott’s work. The administrator said the transition will take some time but indicated the commission will be “in good hands” as staff work through onboarding and backup support arrangements.

The announcement included a procedural note that the commission will not meet in August, giving members a one-meeting break during the summer.